 - Asa Gray in his Cambridge study | When the history of the progress of botany during the nineteenth century shall be written two names will hold high positions; those of Professor Augustin Pyrame DeCandolle (Geneva) and Professor Asa Gray. One sank to his rest in the Old World as the other rose to eminence in the New. Both were great teachers, prolific writers, and authors of the best elementary works of botany in their day |
Asa Gray (1810-1888) is well known as the "Father of American Botany" and champion of Charles Darwin. He was called to Harvard in 1842 as the new Fisher Professor of Natural History. At that point there was no herbarium, no library, and only a small greenhouse and garden. Whatever cash Gray could spare from his salary went into the cultivation of his library and herbarium, which soon took over his house.
In 1864 he offered his collections to Harvard with the stipulation that they build a suitable building to house them. That same year a small brick building was built and the collections were moved. At that point it is estimated that there were about 200,000 specimens in the herbarium and approximately 2,200 books and pamphlets in his library.
Today the Library of the Gray Herbarium, located at 22 Divinity Ave., numbers more than 63,000 volumes and 455 periodical titles. The collection specializes in botanical history, floras of the new world, and Linnaeana and pre-Linnean sources*. It also has a rich archival component and an on-line Gray Herbarium Index of the New World Plants, that lists new taxa, names, and combinations. In 1954 the Gray collection was merged with the research materials from the Library of the Arnold Arboretum. With its emphasis on old world plants this merging helped make Harvard's botany collections extremely comprehensive. The Gray/Arnold stacks are closed and the collections are non-circulating. Materials may be consulted in the Botany Libraries' main reading room, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The libraries' holdings are now listed in HOLLIS, Harvard's online catalog. Further information on specific botanists and publications can be accessed on-line in the Botany Collectors , Botany Authors , or the Botany Publications databases. | 
- Hibiscus, Rosa sinensis |
To obtain more information about the Gray Herbarium Library's collections or for a specific reference request write to:
BOTREF@OEB.HARVARD.EDU
or Botany Libraries
Harvard University
22 Divinity Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
* Please note that many of the Gray Herbarium Library's most valuable books are deposited and available at the Houghton Library. The HOLLIS designator for these will be - Botany: Gray Herbarium: Houghton Deposit.